Conall Morrison, 35 from Derry-Londonderry, has finished in the top half of the fleet after the opening leg of the Clipper 2017-18 Race from Liverpool, UK, to Punta del Este, Uruguay.

After 33 days at sea and more than 6,000 nautical miles racing across the Atlantic Ocean, Conall and his HotelPlanner.com team crossed the finish line at 07:52:57 UTC 22/9/17.

Conor Quinn, an Irish sailor from Rostrevor and a member of Carlingford Lough Yacht Club (CLYC) and Rush Sailing Club (RSC), has recently been crowned the all-Ireland Youth Laser Radial Sailing Champion for 2017.

The biggest ever edition of the 40,000-nautical mile Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, one of the world’s toughest endurance challenges, involving everyday people, got underway on the River Mersey, Liverpool, today, in front of thousands of spectators.

Ewan McMahon won the ISA Youth Pathways despite another difficult day in a light shifting south westerly on Belfast Lough. His earlier form in the championships allowed him to discard the higher of his two results today and comfortably win overall. The two Rush sailors Conor Quinn and Aaron Rodgers had better results with a win in the last race for Conor to lift him to second overall from Aaron by one point. Royal North of Ireland's Sally Bell won 1st lady.

Day 2 of the ISA Youth Pathway National Championships and Optimist Trials saw all of the fleets afloat for the first time with over 200 sailors visiting Ballyholme Yacht Club. The 2017 ISA Youth Pathway National Championships are supported by Ards & North Down Borough Council and Quay Marinas.

Over 130 boats took to the water today at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough on Day 1 of the ISA Youth Pathway National Championships and Optimist Trials. The event is supported by Ards & North Down Borough Council. Only 2 courses were sailed today with the Topper and Laser 4.7 fleets starting tomorrow instead.

Great video from Digby Fox of the Topper Worlds held at Balyholme Yacht Club 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu9vEYSPtPk

The crew of Derry~Londonderry~Doire are hoping for a rare home port win as they depart New York for Derry-Londonderry in the Atlantic Homecoming Leg of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

Led by Scottish Skipper Daniel Smith, the Northern Irish entry is currently second in the Overall Race Standings and so far has recorded three victories in this 14-race global series. Today the twelve-strong fleet of Clipper 70 racing yachts has departed New York for Race 12, the LegenDerry Finale which will see the teams arrive into Lough Foyle between 7 – 11 July. On board are three local crew members from Derry-Londonderry along with many more from across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

With a day to spare, Providence Team IRL’s Ryan Seaton and Matt McGovern have secured Gold at the Princess Sofia regatta for Olympic classes in Palma, Mallorca this afternoon.

The 49er skiff class crew won the 15th and final race of the week to top the leaderboard in the 70-plus fleet. Normally the top ten boats go forward to a medal race final to decide the podium but Seaton and McGovern have a 27-point lead and cannot be beaten.

The pair from Ballyholme are still obliged to take part in the medal final but can finish in any place and still win Gold.

The result is still subject to any rules protest or claim for redress by another competitor that may affect the result.

Matt McGovern and Ryan Seaton from Ballyholme Yacht Club lead after the first day of the Princess Sofia World Cup event in Palma, Majorca in the 49er fleet.

This is the first World Cup event of the year on the journey towards the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016. The pair recently scored their best result at a World Championship in Argentina where they came 10th.

Derry~Londonderry~Doire was second across the line in the Stormhoek Race to the Cape of Storms

Only ten minutes separated Derry~Londonderry~Doire from GREAT Britain at the finish line in a high speed battle across 3,400 nautical miles from Brazil to South Africa in the second leg of the 14-race global series that forms the 40,000 nM Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. This leg across the South Atlantic Ocean is the Stormhoek Race to the Cape of Storms and conditions didn’t disappoint, pushing the fleet on in a fast and furious crossing with some record speeds in excess of 30 knots, with the front runners averaging a credible 10 knots across the entire 14 day dash from Rio de Janeiro to Cape Town.

LONDON, UK, Sunday 30 August 2015:

Hundreds of amateur sailors from around the world passed under Tower Bridge today at the start of a 40,000 nautical mile global race, between six continents, which will take almost a year to complete in the longest and toughest ocean endurance challenge on the planet

Tens of thousands of well-wishers filled the international Race Village at St Katharine Docks, central London’s only marina, and lined the banks of the Thames to wave off the courageous crews and their professional skippers in the tenth edition of the famous biennial Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

Skippers and crew members taking part in the Round Ireland Sailability event are busy getting their boats ready for their passage. On June 26, three yachts will leave Greencastle with owners and crew heading east to circumnavigate Ireland to raise awareness of sailing for persons with disabilities. They will be joined by another yacht at Carlingford. The skippers and their crew members are full steam ahead with their preparations.

The Lighthouse Voyage

Netherlands to Belfast

The stunning Class A vessel, Eendracht is seeking trainees for an 11 day voyage from Scheveningen (Netherlands) to Belfast 17-27 June.

 

•       €1,195 (around £850) – reduced from €1,295

•       €647.50 (around £460) for 15 to 25 year olds

 

Price covers meals, coffee, tea and fruit. Price does not include transport costs to Netherlands.

 

If you know anyone who is interested in booking this sailing adventure, go to www.eendracht.nl/…/trips/150617/zeezeilen-vuurtorenreis-2015

Lough Swilly Yacht Club will host the next stage of Foyle Sailability’s volunteer training on Wednesday, May 20. This is part of our on-going Volunteer training programme, which aims to provide our volunteers with the required skills and experience to help out with the events we host for people with disabilities to get on the water and enjoy sailing.